Systematic Design of Analog CMOS Circuits

'Analog design generates insight, but requires expertise. To build up such expertise, analytic models are used to create design procedures. Indeed, analytic models easily allow device sizing from specifications. They lack accuracy, however. The models of present-day nanometer MOS transistors have become rather complicated. On the other hand SPICE simulations do provide the required accuracy but don't generate as much insight. The use of SPICE-generated lookup tables, as described in this book, provides an excellent compromise. The accuracy is derived from SPICE, and the design procedure itself is made through MATLAB employing parameters like gm/ID. As a result, a considerable amount of intuition can be built up. Such design procedure is highly recommended to whoever wants to gain insight by doing analog design, without losing the accuracy of real SPICE simulations.' Willy Sansen, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium